BIG BOY’S ROOM: Seeing Orange

First off, I want to say THANK YOU to all of my new readers and my good ‘ole regular readers of this here blog! Your comments make my day. I know you may hear that a lot from other bloggers, but really, most of the time your comments are the only adult “voices” I hear some days (other than my husbands). I look forward to every piece of advice, feedback, joke, private email, the whole nine. And the comments on the Big Boy room are read to my son and he blushes when he here that other people like his room! It was a little over a year ago that I started this blog and didn’t think having readers. People who actually set aside time out of their day to read what I have to say blows my mind. So again, thank You!

Now, back to this room! So you know that his room is based off the the room my son showed me in the Serena and Lily catalog

there are so many things that I think make this room AMAZING. One of those things is the pop of orange. Orange foo dogs, the orange letter R, the orange crate, the orange surf board…..Get the picture? Okay! So I wanted to add orange to my sons room as well. The thing is, I wanted it to be the right shade of orange. One day at Goodwill I spotted this

I don’t know what the proper name for it is, but I loved the color and I thought it would be a nice addition to the space to hold his mini legos! Plus, I loved the little chip on it. It already had that ‘worn’ look I was going for;-)

When it came time for me to find an orange that would work for the room, I pulled out all of my paint swatches and paint decks and found Martha Stewarts ‘Saffron’

I don’t know what to say about this color except for I’m in love with it (is that possible?)! Its a beautiful burnt orange that’s not to brown or rusty and not too all in your face so put your glasses on orange. It’s a pretty color and I hope I can use it again somewhere! Anyway…. So using my inspiration image, the first thing I painted was the letter A for Antonio to put above his bed

I pulled out my favorite brush and started painting

And while I was at it, I painted a shell that I picked up from Target a while back for $.98. I only purchased it because it was less thank, but its going to look nice in the room paint ‘Saffron’!

And the good part about this project was that I was able to use a sample of the paint! The sample jars of paint are $3!!! I purchased the letter at Joann’s which was $3.99

I glued the A to a piece of cardboard from another frame. And I used a matte from one of these frames

I had plans to paint these foo dogs orange too, but for some reason, I don’t think he need foo dogs. They would just be props and I can use other things for props right? Or do you think the foo dogs would be a great addition?

Tomorrow I plan to show you my No Sew drapes that I made for the room! That’s if I leave out to get more batteries for my camera;-)

BIG BOY BEDROOM: Framing the walls

I already shared with you my idea of a massive gallery wall for this large empty wall

and I showed you some of the frames that I collected from Goodwill

Since then I have gathered a few more frames and have started to hang a few

I have about 6 more frames to add to this wall. What am I putting in the frames you ask? Some prints by Mrs. Limestone! I wanted some images of some cool places and because I’ve never been to any “cool” places, I knew that I could count on this world traveler for some great shots;-)

And because my little guy was so excited about those frames, he suggested more frames with pictures of his family. Seriously, my son is really stealing my heart with this project! So I decided to add frames over his bed that will include a few shots of me and his dad, his brothers, and cousins (and anyone/thing he suggests!).

I don’t have any tips on how I went about hanging the frames simply because I was too lazy to figure out how going for a random arrangement. I was trying to think back to when I hung pictures and posters in my room when I was younger. Back then, I didn’t pull out a level and make sure everything was perfectly spaced and straight (I will make sure these are straight!). I saw this picture in Target and thought it was the perfect inspiration for the wall

and this wall inside of IKEA (of course it won’t be this large!)

So that was my little update on the gallery wall. I have a few more frames to add and as soon as the pictures from Mrs. Limestone arrive, I’ll post an update on twitter!

Now, if you're in need of instructions on how to hang an art wall, check out this post by Janell!

BIG BOY BEDROOM: Nightstands

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was interesting. Our air conditioning unit went out and with temps in the upper 90’s it felt like….well, you know!

Today I want to talk furniture for the ‘big boy’ room. I mentioned that I was torn between using one palette

Or, two palettes

I think two palettes will give me the look I’m going for. With that in mind, it was time to find nightstands. I thought the RAST chests from IKEA would work if stained, but the size was large to flank both sides of the bed. Then, I thought back to my vision for the room: Rustic meets clean and contemporary and a little modern (?). The palettes would be my rustic and the nightstands would be my clean/contemporary/modern. By the way, don’t ask me how I came up with that! Anywho….After going to IKEA for the fourth time in a week, I decided on the MALM nightstands in oak

Perfect! Clean lines, ideal height, and the oak veneer wouldn’t be to busy against the shipping palettes. And with a price tag of $39.99, they left room for lunch!

Here is a quick snap shot of the nightstands in the room (ignore the sleeping child and Mr. Potato Head!) After writing this post, I realized I didn’t have pictures of the nightstands in the room so I snapped one this morning…

They provide the perfect amount on storage for his clothes so I can bring in a desk and chair on the opposite wall. Now, if I can just manage to bring myself to painting the desk…

What do you think? Were the nightstands a score or a bore?! And, would you have chosen one palette or two?

BLOGGER TAG SALE!

 

The ladies over at sketch 42 and the design blahg have coordinated a blogger tag sale.  Why on earth did I decide to participate is still a mystery since I can’t even bring myself to have a yard sale or even sell something on craigslist.  But, I figured I would give it a try just for fun so here goes

 

I have this vintage style lamp that I purchased a while back.  The base is solid brass and the lampshade is metal.  Would be perfect for a desk!

asking price $40

 

6 yards of this Waverly indoor/outdoor fabric

I purchased this fabric when I thought I would be designing a new playroom for the boys.  My inspiration was this room

 

asking price: $20 for all six yards

I have this vintage ornate mirror that I originally thought about using in my powder room, but I found another one and I can’t keep both!

asking price: $50

 

Set of 12 Crate and Barrel tea light candle holders in pale pink

I used these for my wedding.  How cute would they be for a baby shower?!  I do have a few more if you are interested.

asking price: $6 for all 12

 

The prices for these items are relatively fair, but if your interested in something we could talk! email me at lakeitha_duncan(at)yahoo(dot)com or leave a comment below

These prices do not include shipping.  Shipping is TBD and I will let you know before any payment is made

I’ll add an update on bloggers who are participating in the sale in a few.  But, if you tweet, use #bloggertagsale to find out there too!

Happy Shopping

BIG BOY ROOM: Framing It Out

One of my plans for this room is to do a gallery/art wall

Something like this

But, the wall in the inspiration room

reminds me of when I was in school and use to tack posters on my wall. It totally works for a kids space! But, I think I would like to add a few more frames to the wall.

With that in mind, I headed to my favorite stores to check out their inventory

GOODWILL!

Because I’m going for a rustic look, I scoured these shelves in search of wooden frames with little, but some variation in color.

This is what came home with

I think I need a few more frames to get the look I want, but for $8 total, I think I'm off to a good start!

Now, I have to figure out how to put this wall together and find the art. Any tips or recommendations?

BIG BOY ROOM: The Plans for the Space

So I’ve shown you the space now what? What will get this room to the point of being worthy of a reveal?

For starters, I must decide whether or not I’m using one palette or two

One palette would give me the chance to add nightstands, which I really want for the space. Two, well two was in the inspiration:-)

Next, I need to figure out if I want to keep the ceiling fan. With Georgia’s 90+ degree heat, our AC is just not keeping up. TJ has specifically requested a new light fixture. We’ll have to see how I feel as the days go by

**well, now that I look at it on here, it may have to go;-)**

I have some cool American Clipper Prints that I found at an estate sale a while back that I plan to have framed

And when I say “plan to have framed” I mean I’m going to find some frames that they will fit into! Seriously, have you ever had something framed professionally? Gee…

I would also like to do a massive gallery wall on this wall

You know, something like this

Then I have to play up the only window in the room with some window treatments

Speaking of window treatments, checkout the fabric that I received in the mail the other day

Okay, and via Twitter, everyone loved the green, blue, and white color scheme that I’m going with in the room. Great! But, lets take it up a notch with a pop of orange

And while I’m taking it up a notch, lets add a bit of whimsy and the unexpected with that orange and paint some foo dogs for the room

Can you smell what I’m cooking for this room?! I can’t wait to start adding these things to the space! I contacted someone last night on Craigslist in reference to a desk and a dresser (here’s a hint: CAMPAIGN!!!), lets see if I get a call back! That desk would be perfect for this room:-)

So what do you think so far? Are you as excited as I am?!

Have a GREAT weekend!

BIG BOY BEDROOM: A Blank Slate

There are so many steps that need to be taken in order for me to get this room from its current state

To this

The first and most important thing for me to realize is that the inspiration image is just that, INSPIRATION. I can point many things that it has and the space I’m working with do not. For instance, my space have 8’ ceilings. This space obviously has more given the space above the palettes. I don’t have a window like the inspiration. And, I don’t have the money to use all Serena and Lily products:-)

So, with all of that said, lets get to the space I’m working with and my plans for it. When you enter the room, this is what you see

You can already tell that I’m limited when it comes to big furniture pieces for the room.

Here is a look at the space facing the bed

Here is the closet. Do you remember what I turned that into?! I’m thinking about changing that and making it more usable space for this room. We’ll see!

Here is the only window in the room

And here is the large massive wall in front of the bed

Oh, and here are some shots of the DIY bordered bedskirt!

And here’s what is going on in the room as I type

Yep, that’s my life!

Stay tuned for a breakdown of the what’s to come in the room!